I got to draft out of the fifth spot in the industry PPR mock draft hosted by thefantasyfix.com. Here’s the team I drafted with some comments on the picks.

1.Maurice Jones-Drew – MJD was a logical first pick for my team. Foster, Rice and Calvin Johnson all went before my pick. It would be hard to pass up the player who is the main source of offense for his team. He also led the league in rushing yards last year too.

2.Roddy White – I felt Roddy was right for my team since he recorded consecutive 100-catch seasons the last two years. White looks to be a part of an Atlanta offense that should be airing it out in 2012.

3.Rob Gronkowski – I had the choice to make between Jimmy Graham and the Gronk. I knew if I didn’t get one of them, they’d both be gone by the time it got back to me in round 4. I picked the Gronk since he has more stability in his quarterback situation at the time I drafted. And 18 touchdowns also help make that decision easy.

4.Eli Manning – I felt I had a stable core built and needed a QB. Stafford went off the board one pick before me so I settled for the two-time Super Bowl champion. Manning stood out for me with his receiving corps (Nicks, Cruz, Randle) and the fact that the Giants were dead last in rushing last season.

5.Antonio Brown – Brown has been regarded by some as a top-10 PPR pick. I didn’t see him that far up but couldn’t let him slip by me in the fifth round. Brown has amazing speed and was the first player in NFL history with 1,000 receiving and return yards in the same season. Add to that the contract impasse with Mike Wallace and Brown could be an even better pick.

6. Beanie Wells – Wells led the Cardinals with 1,057 yards on 245 carries and 10 touchdowns in 2011. There is uncertainty with who will be quarterbacking the Cardinals in 2012. The receiving group should be able to pull defenders away from the box and give Wells room to roam. I don’t expect many passes to go his way but he should be carrying the rock quite often and get the goal line carries.

7. BenJarvus Green-Ellis – “The Law Firm,” as we’ve come to know him, is now a Bengal and is with a team that has a bigger emphasis on the running game. We saw how well Andy Dalton and AJ Green hooked up last year so this should open holes for BJGE. I don’t expect many receptions for him but he is another unquestioned goal-line back. I think he’ll be close to the same numbers he put up last season.

8. Lance Moore – Now that I had three RBs and two WRs, I put my focus back on WRs. Moore was the best of a dicey group of wideouts that was left by the middle of the draft. Moore has been known to have big games out of the blue and I felt he was less of a risk to take on the Saints and their state of affairs.

9. Nate Washington – Washington stepped into the #1 role after Kenny Britt damaged knee ligaments in September 2011. Add to that the off-field issues Britt has and Washington could be a sneaky pick for great depth. He finished with more than 1,000 yards last season and performed well whether Jake Locker or Matt Hasselbeck was under center for the Titans.

10. Anquan Boldin – I’ve always like Boldin’s toughness and he has the skills to be a Pro Bowl receiver. He just doesn’t have the quarterback in Joe Flacco. Boldin averaged more than 15 yards per catch in 2011 but only found the end zone three times. Torrey Smith went a few rounds earlier but I felt I got the better player.

11. Nate Burleson – Burleson had 73 catches last season for the Lions and more than 700 yards. Detroit threw for more than 5000 yards last season and had a bumbling running game. Although Titus Young might take some of those catches away, Burleson looks like a strong value in the 11th round in PPR.

12. Brandon Jacobs – This pick may be worth $3.36 but I hope that he pays off like a five-spot for my team. Jacobs should do better on a 49ers team more committed to the run than the Giants were. With Frank Gore always being at risk for an injury, Jacobs gives the 49ers a good back to fall back on. His size also makes him a threat to vulture touchdowns as well and he averages 10 receptions a year.

13. San Francisco defense – I rolled the dice and went a round early on the defense of the 49ers. The Texans went off the board a round earlier and all of the others were left. I chose San Francisco since they play in a weak division and were lights out last season and finished first against the run. Aldon’s Smith injury is of little concern.

14. Mark Sanchez – I felt I needed to have a backup quarterback and Sanchez was the best of what was left. He has the Rams on the week when Eli is on bye so that helps. Sanchez looked better than Kevin Kolb or Matt Cassel. People forget he threw for 3500 yards and 26 TDs last season.

15. Greg Zuerlein – This is definitely an obscure pick of a rookie kicker from Division II Missouri Western of the MIAA. Here’s why i took him. He hit an NCAA all-division record 21 field goals in a row last season. Of those 21, he was a perfect 9-of-9 from beyond 50 yards. He hit twice from 58 yards out as well. When you put a guy with a leg like that inside a dome on a team with a sputtering offense he will get his chances. Keep those stats in mind if you play in leagues that give bonuses for longer distance field goals.

So, what do you think of the team? Leave comments below and let us know if this team would be a PPR beast or total roadkill.

@Andrew Nordmeier,
Lets start with the good because it will be much shorter then the bad. Three picks stand out to me and those would be
Round 3.05- Rob Gronkowski; A complete steal and your best pick of the draft. He belongs in the first round no matter if it’s a non ppr or ppr format. The Patriots added more weapons for Tom Brady but he is still a monster in the red zone!
Round 5.05- Antonio Brown; It’s hard to imagine his TD total can get any lower from last year. With room in that department you could be looking at a high end WR2.
Round 8- Lance Moore; People forget how much of a red zone saftey blanket he is to Drew Brees. Plus you add in the fact that an additional 40+ targets are open due to Robert Meachem leaving. He is a floor WR3 in PPR formats with upside for moore(get what I just did).

That was a fun and short but it’s time to bring up the bad:(
Round 4- Eli Manning; You are paying for his career year and he didn’t even finish in the top six for fantasy QB’s. You are getting no value with this pick and have a more realistic shot at getting less in return in 2012.
Round 6-7- Beanie Wells and BJGE;

@Andrew Nordmeier,
Lets start with the good because it will be much shorter then the bad. Three picks stand out to me and those would be

Round 3.05- Rob Gronkowski; A complete steal and your best pick of the draft. He belongs in the first round no matter if it’s a non ppr or ppr format. The Patriots added more weapons for Tom Brady but he is still a monster in the red zone!

Round 5.05- Antonio Brown; It’s hard to imagine his TD total can get any lower from last year. With room in that department you could be looking at a high end WR2.

Round 8- Lance Moore; People forget how much of a red zone saftey blanket he is to Drew Brees. Plus you add in the fact that an additional 40+ targets are open due to Robert Meachem leaving. He is a floor WR3 in PPR formats with upside for moore(get what I just did).

That was a fun and short but it’s time to bring up the bad:(
Round 4- Eli Manning; You are paying for his career year and he didn’t even finish in the top six for fantasy QB’s. You are getting no value with this pick and have a more realistic shot at getting less in return in 2012.

Round 6- Beanie Wells; All that needs to be said about this guy is look from weeks 5-17(excluding week 15) he gives you 9 games with below 3.79 YPC & only a total of 4 TD’s

Round 7- Benjarvus Green-Ellis; Let’s see he is in a RBBC with Benard Scott(strike one), he has a very(very) limited skill set(strike two) & he is going from the Patriots to the Bengals offense(strike three).

Round 9- Anquan Boldin; As we saw Torrey Smith gain a nice chemistry with his QB(Flacco) especially in the 2nd half of last year. It came at the expense of Boldin and it showed in the numbers. From week 10-15(missed final two weeks) Boldin saw three less targets a game and only averaged 3.2 catches.

Round 12- Brandon Jacobs; I didn’t even know people were drafting this guy(especially in a ppr format. Let’s not forget that they also have Kendal Wright and draft LMJ. That backfield is a mess and at this point nobody is showing value. When you are that late in the draft why not take a shot on a guy who represents upside. Three guys that stand out are Kevin Smith, Joe McKnight & Shane Vereen. All three of these guys off ability rushing but catching the football and can be had in the same round or later then Brandon Jacobs.

Overall I would have to say your team lacks quality depth and the RB spot is very scary(bad not good) for this team. Outside of MJD I would say hold nothing but very low-end RB3 options(PPR) in Wells & BJGE & Brandon Jacobs holds no value and really should not be on fantasy rosters at the moment. You overpaid for your QB and could have got the same production at least two rounds later. They say you can’t win your league on draft night but you sure can put yourself in a hole.

I also want to say that I hope you don’t think I am trying to come off as a d***. I have stated my feelings on many of these same player in previous articles by Sky and back them up by numbers. That’s also the beauty of this game we play. A lot of ways to approach it and what fun would it be if we all look at certain players the same way.

@David_KOA, My two cents: There’s no way Gronk repeats his TD numbers from last year. 3.05 is still pretty good value for him, but I don’t think he’s quite the amazing steal that’s going to carry this team. Other than that, I agree with every point you’ve made. This is a team that’s going to have to work the waiver wire a lot, and get lucky.

Hey David, I think Andrew is majorly busy. Just didn’t want your comment to feel like it went unnoticed. As always, you bring some great points to the forefront and hopefully Andrew takes those ideas and runs with them in his future mocks and real drafts.

This mock team got really bad after round 5. Beanie is made of glass and doesn’t catch very many passes. BJGE is in a RBBC and doesn’t catch passes. You really think Anquan Boldin has been trash because of Joe Flacco? You must not watch the Ravens then. Brandon Jacobs never catches passes and has Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, and LaMichael James around. Defenses fluctuate too much in rankings to pick one before the second to last round, just look at where SF has ranked the past two years. Mark Sanchez is trash and even though he was a late pick, you probably could have gotten someone with more upside for the low risk pick.

Honestly this looks bad even for a non-PPR league. The good thing for the OP is that training camp hasn’t even started yet and you have plenty of time to sharpen your draft targets.

I agree with the comments here; this team doesn’t look so hot EVEN if it repeats last year’s performances (which we all know won’t happen). There’s no upside picks, no value picks, a DEF selection very early, and washed up RBs. OH!, and Mark Sanchez. Everybody outside of Gronk went a full round too early. Not hatin’, its just the pre-pre-season so I get to sound like an expert. Basically, I wouldn’t want this team at all not only because I don’t feel its very strong but it doesn’t look fun at all either (SEE: rounds 7 thru 12).

I seriously almost took your site off my favorites after reading this mock draft article? Tell me this is your first mock draft of the year?

5th pick overall I am not sure how Aaron Rodgers or Calvin Johnson did not make it on your squad instead of RB that is holding out on the worst offense in the league? MJD imo is a risk this season yes he proved all the doubters wrong last year but highly doubt he is able to repeat.

2nd Rd Roddy White? That is a very tough pick for me as well not sure what RB’s were left on the board but the WR class this year is so deep and you could easily get a WR in the 3rd Rd that could put Roddy White type numbers.

3rd Rd Gronkowski seems like great value here not sure come end of August Gronk will still be around in the 3rd he is a for sure 2nd Rd pick.

4th Rd Eli please read above. If you decide to go QB early this year you must get one of the top 4 if you dont you wait and try and land 10-12 ie Manning, Rivers, Ryan.

Dont really care to comment on the rest of the draft not a Wells fan especially in a PPR I also dont care much for you later round WRs. I would have been very reluctant to post the above mock draft. I think I would did another one and hoped for better results and posted that one not sure it could get any worse.

First of all, LOVE the kicker analysis. At the least, it’s fun to feel like you have some kind of inside knowlege on what is otherwise a crap shoot.

Reading this, I was surprised at Beanie’s totals from last year, I think I had him a little low, even for Beanie. But I do fear his fragility and my chances to get his cuff. Not to mention LSHowling still out there.

Law Firm is underrated I think. He seems like the prototypical “unsexy” pick that will give you one less headache every week. I love plug and play.

Finally, in Andrew’s defense, in my 6 pt. passing TD league I had Eli in the fourth round/tier chart after Rivers and Romo (next round/tier has Big Ben and Matty Ice, although I could see either or both of those guys switching places with Eli).

Hey everyone. Hope you’re all doing well. Yes it was the first mock of the season and I think I can only go up from here. As a matter of fact I am in about TEN drafts this weekend to help hone my skills and see what people are thinking.

I saw some positive feedback and a lot negative but I appreciate all of it. Only time will tell how awful my team might be.

Also, Nate Washington looks a little better fter Britt got charged with a DUI early this morning in Kentucky.

I apologize for the slow responses. It’s a little difficult to carve out a little bit of time between a full-time job and caring for my 19-month-old son. I’m stating facts, not making excuses for it.

Hope everyone has a great season in their leagues!

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